Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1983 Aug;155(2):493–497. doi: 10.1128/jb.155.2.493-497.1983

High endogenous nitrogenase activity in isolated heterocysts of Anabaena sp. strain CA after nitrogen starvation.

A Kumar, F R Tabita, C Van Baalen
PMCID: PMC217715  PMID: 6409878

Abstract

Metabolically active heterocysts were isolated from a mutant of Anabaena sp. strain CA with fragile vegetative cells. Heterocysts isolated from cultures grown in 1% CO2 in air reduced C2H2 at 57 and 10 nmol of C2H2 per mg (dry weight) per min under H2 and Ar, respectively. However, if whole filaments were sparged with 1% CO2 in 99% Ar for 12 h before heterocyst isolation, these heterocysts showed C2H2 reduction rates of 83 nmol of C2H4 per mg (dry weight) per min under either H2 or Ar, or 40% the activity of whole filaments grown in 1% CO2 in air. Heterocysts isolated from cultures sparged with 100% Ar or 1% CO2 in 99% N2 had the same C2H2 reduction pattern as heterocysts from cultures grown in 1% CO2 in air, i.e., low activity under Ar and high activity under H2. Labeling of whole filaments incubated with NaH14CO3 for 12 h under 1% CO2 in air or 1% CO2 in 99% Ar resulted in a twofold higher accumulation of 14C-labeled compounds in vegetative cells and heterocysts of Ar-incubated cells. Our results suggest that during incubation under 1% CO2 in 99% Ar, presumably a nitrogen starvation condition, continuing photosynthetic fixation of CO2 leads to accumulation of material(s) in the heterocysts that supports a high, persistent endogenous rate of C2H2 reduction. This material appears to be, in part, glycogen.

Full text

PDF
493

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Allen M. M., Smith A. J. Nitrogen chlorosis in blue-green algae. Arch Mikrobiol. 1969;69(2):114–120. doi: 10.1007/BF00409755. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bottomley P. J., van Baalen C. Dark hexose metabolism by photoautotrophically and heterotrophically grown cells of the blue-green alga (Cyanobacterium) Nostoc sp. strain Mac. J Bacteriol. 1978 Sep;135(3):888–894. doi: 10.1128/jb.135.3.888-894.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bradley S., Carr N. G. Heterocyst and nitrogenase development in Anabaena cylindrica. J Gen Microbiol. 1976 Sep;96(1):175–184. doi: 10.1099/00221287-96-1-175. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. David K. A., Apte S. K., Thomas J. Stimulation of nitrogenase by acetylene: fresh synthesis or conformational chance? Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1978 May 15;82(1):39–45. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(78)90573-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fay P. Photostimulation of nitrogen fixation in Anabaena cylindrica. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1970 Sep 1;216(2):353–356. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(70)90226-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Lockau W., Peterson R. B., Wolk C. P., Burris R. H. Modes of reduction of nitrogen in heterocysts isolated from Anabaena species. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1978 May 10;502(2):298–308. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(78)90051-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Peterson R. B., Burris R. H. Properties of heterocysts isolated with colloidal silica. Arch Microbiol. 1976 May 3;108(1):35–40. doi: 10.1007/BF00425090. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Peterson R. B., Dolan E., Calvert H. E., Ke B. Energy transfer from phycobiliproteins to photosystem I in vegetative cells and heterocysts of Anabaena variabilis. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1981 Feb 12;634(2):237–248. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(81)90142-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Peterson R. B., Wolk C. P. High recovery of nitrogenase activity and of Fe-labeled nitrogenase in heterocysts isolated from Anabaena variabilis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Dec;75(12):6271–6275. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.12.6271. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Stewart W. D., Haystead A., Pearson H. W. Nitrogenase activity in heterocysts of blue-green algae. Nature. 1969 Oct 18;224(5216):226–228. doi: 10.1038/224226a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Stewart W. D., Rowell P. Effects of L-methionine-DL-sulphoximine on the assimilation of newly fixed NH3, acetylene reduction and heterocyst production in Anabaena cylindrica. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1975 Aug 4;65(3):846–856. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(75)80463-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Tel-Or E., Stewart W. D. Photosynthetic electron transport, ATP synthesis and nitrogenase activity in isolated heterocysts of Anabaena cylindrica. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1976 Feb 16;423(2):189–195. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(76)90177-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Thomas J., Meeks J. C., Wolk C. P., Shaffer P. W., Austin S. M. Formation of glutamine from [13n]ammonia, [13n]dinitrogen, and [14C]glutamate by heterocysts isolated from Anabaena cylindrica. J Bacteriol. 1977 Mar;129(3):1545–1555. doi: 10.1128/jb.129.3.1545-1555.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. VANBAALEN C., MARLER J. E. CHARACTERISTICS OF MARINE BLUE-GREEN ALGAE WITH URIC ACID AS NITROGEN SOURCE. J Gen Microbiol. 1963 Sep;32:457–463. doi: 10.1099/00221287-32-3-457. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Wolk C. P. Movement of carbon from vegetative cells to heterocysts in Anabaena cylindrica. J Bacteriol. 1968 Dec;96(6):2138–2143. doi: 10.1128/jb.96.6.2138-2143.1968. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES